Ammunition holder having compartments to receive a cartridge belt



Aug. 19, 1969 F MAURER ETAL 3,461,774

AMMUNITION HOLDER HAVING COMPARTMENTS. TO

RECEIVE A CARTRIDGE BELT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 13, 1968IIIITIIII/IIIIIIAJ/I/I III! III 4 Ill/Jl/lh/l/IIIAJ b W WWW M m ,m 1 ZJm W I F MM w Aug. 19, 1969 F. MAURER ETAL 394315174 AMMUNITION HOLDERHAVING COMPARTMENTS T0 RECEIVE A CARTRIDGE BELT Filed June 13, 1968 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FRFIZ MALWER Mu HIWQPETE NWH:

lmleuraes United States Patent 3,461,774 AMMUNITION HOLDER HAVINGCOMFART- MENTS TO RECEIVE A CARTRIDGE BELT Fritz Maurer, Gontenschwil,and Hanspeter Novet, Uster, Switzerland, assignors toWerkzeugmaschinenfabnk Oerlikon Buhrle & C0., Zurich, Switzerland FiledJune 13, 1968, Ser. No. 737,788 Claims priority, applicationSwitzerland, June 16, 1967, 8,603/ 67 Int. Cl. F41c 25/02 U.S. C]. 89-348 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An ammunition container havingcompartments which are emptied in succession on withdrawal of theammunition contained in a carriage belt, the latter being guided overthe previously emptied compartments. For this guiding a flap is providedwhich in turn is articulated on a swivellablepart of the wall disposedbetween two compartments. This flap covers the previously emptiedcompartment and prevents the cartridge belt from passing into saidpreviously emptied compartment as it is withdrawn.

The invention relates to an ammunition holder having a plurality ofcompartments to receive a cartridge belt in loop form, which cartridgebelt, during extraction, is guided over a compartment which has alreadybeen emptied by means of a flap which is articulated to one' wall of thecompartment and covers the empty compartment at least partially, saidflap forming a supporting surface for the cartridge belt to beextracted.

An ammunition holder of this kind is known wherein the cartridge belt isarranged in a plurality of loops in each compartment. In this case thereis a danger of the cartridge belt being displaced and reliable conveyingof the cartridge belt is no longer assured. It is an object of thepresent invention to provide a device which renders it possible to makethe compartment so small that only a single loop of the cartridge beltcan be accommodated in order to prevent displacement of the cartridgebelt. This is achieved in that said wall of the compartment comprises aplate which is pivotally secured in the holder, said flap beingarticulated to said plate.

With the above and other objects in view which will become apparent fromthe detailed description below, a preferred embodiment of the ammunitionholder is shown in the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a vertical section through an ammunition holder, theguiding and stacking of a cartridge belt in the holder being illustrateddiagrammatically;

FIGURE 2 shows a partition in the ammunition holder illustrated inFIGURE 1, partially in elevation and partially in section on the lineIllI in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 3 shows a view in the direction of the arrow A in FIGURE 2 with aplurality of flaps in different positions during the filling of theholder.

According to FIGURES 1 and 2, the ammunition holder comprises a frontwall 1, a rear wall 2, a cover 3 and a bottom 4. Apertures are formed inthe front wall 1 and are closed by removable doors 6 to which there aresecured handles 7 which facilitate the removal and fitting of the doors.Compartments are formed by partitions 8 disposed perpendicularly withrespect to the front and rear walls 1 and 2. These partitions 8 aresecured to the walls 1 and 2 and do not extend as far as the cover 3. Ascan be seen from FIGURE 1, these compartments are all equal in size withthe exception of the last compartment which is narrower.

As shown in FIGURE 2, two plates 10, to each of which there is welded astrap 11 or 12, are secured to the fronts of each of the partitions 8.Welded to the strap 11 is a first sleeve 13, the axis of which isdirected parallel to the plane of the partition 8. A second sleeve 14,which is disposed coaxially with the first sleeve 13 and has a flange15, is mounted for rotation in the strap 12. A further strap 16 iswelded to the sleeve 14. Secured to this strap 16 is a pin 17 which isdisposed parallel to the axis of the sleeve 14.

Mounted for displacement and rotation on the sleeve 14 is a third sleeve18 which has a flange 19 which comprises a groove 20. The pin 17projects into this groove 20. Mounted in the interior of the sleeves 14and 18 is a spring 21 which bears on the one hand against a shoulder 22on the bore in the sleeve 14 and on the other hand against a shoulder onthe bore in the sleeve 18. This spring 21 tends to urge the two sleeves14 and 18 apart. On the pin 17 there is a pin 23 against which theflange 19 bears under the action of the spring 21. The width of thegroove 20 cut in the sleeve flange 19 is greater than the diameter ofthe pin 17.

The sleeve 14 is secured against axial displacement in the strap 12 onthe one hand by the strap 16 secured to the sleeve and on the other handby a nut 24 screwed on to the sleeve 14.

The sleeves 13 and 14 are splined internally. The two ends of a torsionbar 25, which are likewise splined, project into the sleeves 13 and 14so that the bar 25 is held against rotation in the sleeves 13, 14. Thetorsion bar 25 is secured against axial displacement in the sleeve 14 bya pin 26. In the strap 16 there is a groove 29, one face of which bears,under the action of the initially tensioned torsion bar 25, against theback of the plate 10, so that the torsion bar 25 tends to pivot thestrap 16 in counterclockwise direction in accordance with FIGURE 3.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the sleeve 18 comprises a square bore 28 at itsleft-hand end. As shown in FIGURE 3, the flange 19 of the sleeve 18 issubstantially rectangular, and the lower narrow side of the flange 19does not extend down as far as the end face 30 of the plate 10.Furthermore, the flange 19 comprises an extension 29 which projectsdownwards beyond said end face 30 of the plate 10 and forms a stop inrelation to the plate 10.

At its front face, this extension 29 comprises a recess 31. A face 32 ofthis recess is directed radially with respect to the axis of the sleeveand is inclined in relation to the back of the plate 10 in the positionshown. When the sleeve 18 is in the position shown in FIGURE 2, theflange 19 is in front of a groove 33 which is provided in the end face30 of the plate 10. This groove 33 is wider than the thickness of thesleeve flange 19.

As shown in FIGURE 2, two lobes 35 project laterally from a plate 34 andare welded to the two straps 16 and 36. In its initial position, theplate 34 is in the same plane as the partition 8. The strap 36 ismounted for pivoting on the sleeve 13. A guide plate 37 is secured tothe rear of the plate 34. The lower portion of this guide plate 37 isinclined at an acute angle in relation to the plate 34 and merges intoan upper portion which is arched and extends forwards over the end faceof the plate 34 as far as the flap described below.

As FIGURE 2 shows, secured to the front of the plate 34 are two supports38 in which there is mounted a spindle 39 which extends parallel theretoand the ends of which project laterally beyond the plate. A plane flap40 which is directed perpendicular to the plate 34 in the initialposition, is connected to two hub members 41 mounted for rotation on theends of the shaft 39. Secured to the side of the flap 40 directedtowards the inner wall 1 of the holder is a guide member 42 which islikewise pivotally mounted on the shaft 39 and of which the plane face58 facing the outer wall 2 of the holder is perpendicular to 3 the flap40 and parallel to the wall 1. As shown in FIG- URE 3, the rear boundaryface 43 of the hub portion of the guide member 42 is inclined upwardsfrom the front towards the rear seen in the outgoing direction of thebelt.

Mounted on a spindle 45 which is secured to the flap 40 and projectsoutwards therefrom and which is directed parallel to its spindle 39 is alever 46 which is situated in front of the spindle 39 but somewhathigher and which comprises a bore 47, the axis of which is directedperpendicular to the axis of its hub 48 and lies in the same plane asthis. The bore 47 serves to guide one end of a rod 49, the other end ofwhich is held in a hub 58 which is pivotable on the sleeve 13 rigidlyconnected to the strap 11. Under the action of a spring 51 which iswound round the bar 49 and bears on the one hand against the hub 50 andon the other hand against the lever 46, the flap 40 is urged towards theface 43 of the guide member 42 of the adjacent, front flap 40, whichface acts as a stop, and is thus held in a position perpendicular to theplate 34.

The mode of operation of the device described is as follows:

When the holder is empty, all the flaps 40 are in the position which isassumed by that flap which is associated with the wall designated by theletter C in FIGURE 3. In this position, the flaps 48 of successivecompartments form a substantially coherent and smooth surface over whichthe belt 57 can slide with the lugs 54 projecting to the fore and to therear from its belt members and lying in one plane (FIGURE 2).Furthermore, the faces 58 of the guide members 42 form a substantiallycontinuous guide surface, perpendicular to the flaps, for the front lugs54 of the belt members 53.

If the holder is accommodated in a tank, for example, and is notaccessible from above, the doors are removed from the wall 1 before theholder is filled. Then, at that holder wall 8 which bounds the rearcompartment and which is designated by H in FIGURE 1, the plate 34 isbrought into a position, in the manner described below, such as isassumed by the plate 34 of the wall 8 designated by the letter B inFIGURE 3. By means of a spanner indicated in chain line in FIGURE 2 anddesignated 59, which is inserted in the square bore 28 in the sleeve 18,the sleeve 18 is displaced against the pressure of the spring 21 untilthe shoulder 63 strikes against the end face of the sleeve 14, that isto say so far that the center of the flange 19 lies above the middle ofthe groove 33 in the plate 10. Then the sleeve 18 is first turned inclockwise direction (as seen in FIGURE 3) until the left-hand flank ofthe groove 20 in its flange 19 touches the pin 17. During furtherrotation, the pin 17, and hence also the strap 16 and the plate 34connected thereto, is pivoted about the axis, forming the pivot axis, ofthe rod acting as a torsion spring, and this is thus tensioned. Duringthis rotation, the extension 29 on the flange 19 moves through thegroove 33. The end position of the plate 34 is reached when theright-hand flank of the strap groove 27 strikes against the plate 10 andthe face 32 bounding the recess 31 in the sleeve flange 19 lies in thesame plane as the rear of the plate 10. After a slight movement of thesleeve 18 directed away from the wall 8, its face 32 lies behind theportion 60, bordering on the groove 33, of the plate 10 against which itbears when no further force counteracting the tension of the bar 25 actson the sleeve 18.

During the pivoting of the plate 34, the inclined face 52 of the guidemember 42 of the flap 49 which is also pivoting is displaced downwardsalong the inclined face 43 of the guide member 42 which is connected tothe adjacent, front plate 34. Furthermore, the front plate 34 enters anincision in the flap 40.

The belt is pulled, by an operator reaching through the door openings inthe holder, into the inside and past a guide roller 61 which is disposedin the immediate vicinity of the belt inlet and outlet 62 cut out of thecover 3. It is pulled towards the rear over the flaps and over theinclined plate 34 of the wall l-l (FIGURE 1) into the rearmostcompartment adapted to receive the end of the belt.

The resistances to movement acting on the belt are reduced by theinclined position of the plate 34 in that the angle at which the beltengages round the face of the plate 34 becomes smaller.

After this rearmost compartment has been filled, the sleeve 18 (FIGURE2) is again displaced by the pressure exerted thereon until it strikeswith its shoulder 63 against the sleeve 14. As a result, the buttressingof the locking face 32 ceases so that the plate 34 is returned under theaction of the torsion bar 25 into the position of rest in which it isdirected in the same manner as the wall 8. During this return of theplate 34, the sleeve 18 is also displaced by the pin 17. When the plate34 has reached the end position, however, the sleeve 18 has only covereda portion of its travel into the initial position. The complete turningback is effected by means of the spanner 59, whereupon the sleeve 18 isurged into the initial position as shown in FIGURE 2 by the spring 21.

Before the second compartment from the rear can be filled, the plate 34of the wall designated by J in FIGURE 1 is inclined in the mannerdescribed above. Then the flap 40 covering the compartment is pivotedabout the pin 45 against the pressure of the spring 51 acting thereon ona lever arm which becomes even smaller as the rotation increases, untilits front edge strikes against the plate 34 in which position a slightopening movement originating from the force of the spring 51 still actsthereon. The belt 57 is now drawn into the compartment over the flap 40of the empty compartments situated in front of this compartment. Duringthe course of this, as FIGURE 3 shows, the belt forms a loop which ispulled downwards first along the flap 40 and the guide plate 37substantially parallel therewith and then further down along the twowalls 8 bounding the compartment. The belt 57 bears with the centralfaces 55 of the belt member 53 which were in the same plane as the lugs54 against the guide plate 37 when it slides along this.

After the compartment has been filled (FIGURE 6) the plate 34 of thewall is restored into the position of rest in the manner describedabove.

As FIGURE 1 further shows, the spacing between two walls 8 bounding acompartment corresponds substantially to the width of the belt loopmeasured over the belt members and determined by the size of the beltmembers 53 and the diameter of the cartridges 56 held therein. The widthof the inlet of a filled compartment is less than the width of the beltloop as a result of the flap 40 projecting therein and of the guideplate 37 projecting from the plate 34 of the opposite wall 8, but is solarge that there is room for the two strands of the belt extending awayfrom the loop. The remaining compartments are progressively filled insuccession from the rear towards the front in the same manner as thissecond compartment from the rear.

When the weapon which is fed by the belt is fired, the holder is emptiedin reverse sequence to the filling, that is to say first the compartmentsituated closest to the holder opening 62 and then the other compartmentprogressively from the front towards the rear. As soon as a compartmentis emptied, the flap 40 articulated to its rear wall is restored, underthe action of the spring 51, to the position of rest in which, with theflap 40 of the compartments previously emptied, it forms the slidewayfor the belt 57 running towards the holder opening 62. During theemptying of a compartment, when the loop of the belt 57 reaches theregion of the plate 34 of the walls, the necessary size of outletcorresponding to its width is provided by the fact that it urges theplate 34 into an inclined position as shown in FIGURE 3 out of whichthis is restored to the position of rest by the torsion bar 25 after thebelt has been withdrawn completely from the compartment.

We claim:

1. An ammunition container comprising two com partments for receiving acartridge belt in loop form so that first one and then the other of saidcompartments can be emptied, a wall between said two compartments, aswivellably fastened plate on said wall forming a part of said wall, aflap swivellably articulated on said plate for partly covering thecompartment adapted to be emptied first after it has been emptied, saidflap forming a guide for the cartridge belt over the emptied compartmentin the withdrawal of the cartridge belt from the compartment which hasnot yet been emptied.

2. An ammunition container according to claim 1, having a plurality offlaps on each of which there is provided a stop and a spring, saidSpring tending to press its associated flap against the stop on aneighboring flap.

3. An ammunition contained according to claim 2 wherein a torque appliedby the spring to the flap is at its maximum when the flap strikesagainst the stop of a neighboring flap.

4. An ammunition container according to claim 1 wherein a guide plateforms a transition from said wall to the flap.

5. An ammunition container according to claim 1 wherein a torsion springis fastened at one end of said wall and at the other end on said plateto swivel said plate into the plane of said wall.

6. An ammunition container according to claim 1 wherein with saidswivellable plate has a first and second end position with a swivellingrange between said two end positions. and two stops are provided forlimiting said swivelling range in said two end positions.

7. An ammunition container according to claim 6 wherein a torsionalspring is fastened at one end on said wall and at the other end on saidplate tending to swivel said plate in the first end position in whichsaid plate is situated in the same plane as said wall and a lockingdevice is provided by which said plate can be locked in the second endposition against the force of said torsion spring.

8. An ammunition container according to claim 7 comprising an axiallyslidable sleeve having a groove, a bolt on said plate projecting intosaid groove, a first projection on said sleeve, a second projection onsaid wall, said first projection being brought into engagement with saidsecond projection by sliding said sleeve to secure said plate in saidsecond end position against the force of said torsion spring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,459,934 1/ 1949 HaberlinBENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner S'l'lf'f'PI-[EN (I. BIFNVIEY,Assistant Examiner

